The sky appeared to be the limit to director and writer Cameron Crowe’s ambitions at the turn of the millennium, following a pair of Oscar noms for “Jerry Maguire” and a screenplay trophy for “Almost Famous”. But then the magic stopped. It just… stopped, with his following three efforts being pounded by critics and/or massively underperforming at the box-office.

Yet his work continues to draw the attention of big-time studios and outstanding ensemble casts. Like the one Crowe is currently putting together for a romantic comedy that’s yet to be titled but that’s rumored to come out as soon as next year.

Murray, who’s enjoyed a bittersweet past couple of years due to, well, picking the weirdest scripts flying his way, has a pretty full slate already for the near future. First, we’ll be seeing the Academy Award nominee in George Clooney’s “The Monuments Men”, one of the biggest wild cards of this year’s Oscar race, with “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, from longtime Murray partner and friend Wes Anderson, following up.

At some point in 2014, the actor will star in another quirky comedy, “St. Vincent De Van Nuys”, where for once he’ll play the lead and titular role. Finally, there’s Barry Levinson’s “Rock The Kasbah”, albeit that particular project looks to be on hold for now and it’s unlikely to get a release by, say, 2015.